


When You Least Expect It

by TriangularLettuce



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, extreme use of a thesaurus, hannibal speaking in Lithuanian hoping Will won't realise his declarations of love, warning: Franklin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 03:59:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13516131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriangularLettuce/pseuds/TriangularLettuce
Summary: Hannibal - experienced in life though he was - had never felt true love. Familial love for his beloved sister was the only love he had ever felt. A life of agony and hardship had left him practically immune to the feeling; the only emotions he ever showed now were simply a ruse or charade. That is, until now.





	When You Least Expect It

**Author's Note:**

> So, my first fic on here! I apologise in advance. I wrote this a long time ago but polished it a bit recently and thought it might as well go somewhere so here you go!  
> Comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.  
> (Translations at the end)

Hannibal - experienced in life though he was - had never felt true love. Familial love for his beloved sister was the only love he had ever felt. A life of agony and hardship had left him practically immune to the feeling; the only emotions he ever showed now were simply a ruse or charade. That is, until now.

Will Graham was not the type of person Hannibal expected to fall for, with his bedraggled appearance and affinity for stray dogs (that Hannibal himself definitely wasn’t jealous of for the attention they received). I guess it is how they say: that love comes when you least expect it. It had been so long since Hannibal had even felt the vaguest inkling of emotions that his mask was so secure he had no idea how to express these foreign yet not entirely unsolicited feelings. Just because Hannibal never expected these strong feelings for the shabby, fatigued looking man who blew up about being psychoanalysed, it didn’t mean he was going to ignore them. He wanted to tell Will how he felt in any way he knew how.

It started with little gifts, unnoticed for what they truly were. Dog biscuits for the mutts, new aftershave (partly for his own sense of sanity as well as Will), a scarf when Will forgot his own. It all built up into a courtship not dissimilar to that of a kingfisher, giving the best and biggest fish to prove how worthy a partner they were. However, either due to Will’s own shortcomings at social interaction or Hannibal’s supreme subtlety, the intended recipient had not yet even realised that these gifts meant anything other than that Hannibal wanted Will’s trust and confidence. So Hannibal, irked and incensed, tried a more forward approach.

It began small, with Hannibal calling Will ‘brangiausias’ or ‘numylėtinis in casual conversation, earning no more than a slight quirk of an eyebrow or an amused huff. Hannibal simply explained that he didn’t even notice the slip, feeling so comfortable in his friend’s presence that he didn’t need to think about his words any more than strictly necessary. Will simply smiled, flattered and enamoured (unbeknownst to his partner), not mentioning the language changes again. Sure he found it confusing, but did not feel the need to find out what these small words even meant.

Hannibal, realising he could express his feelings without being caught, continued to escalate. He would pour his feelings out to Will, half the time without Will even noticing the ‘blunder’ had even happened. Mostly, Hannibal’s outbursts were more unrefined after Will had complimented the Chesapeake Ripper. ‘kai jūs suprasite, aš tave myliu’ he exclaimed after the ruffled FBI agent (temporary badge holder) had turned down an offer for dinner to go on a ‘date with the Chesapeake Ripper’.

These frenzied outbursts continued for a few more months before Will began to get curious.

“So has Hannibal ever spoken Lithuanian to you?” Will asked Alana one lunch, seeing her as the most knowledgeable person on Hannibal he could talk to. She looked up from her chicken salad in surprise.

“No. He wouldn’t even help me translate a book in his library. I was beginning to think he was actually French and he’d made the whole Lithuanian thing up, not that I can imagine Hannibal to do such a preposterous thing. Why do you ask?” She remarked, a small pout on her face at the thought of Hannibal’s secrecy from her (not that she knew the half of it).

“Oh. No reason,” Will lied, disappointed and even flummoxed that Alana couldn’t answer his questions, “just curious, that’s all.”

“Well, from one friend to another, let me tell you this. Don’t ask him about his Lithuanian background. He’s too polite to bite your head off for it, but the conversation will get shut down remarkably fast.” She cautioned. Will nodded vaguely, too busy thinking about why Hannibal was choosing to share his secrets with him, of all people. ‘Maybe it’s because he knows I’m too unstable for anyone to believe’ He mused, yet somehow knowing there was another answer. Whatever that answer was, Will was determined to find out.

Friday’s day of work for Hannibal was only kept interesting by the hope that Will would turn up for his appointment at 7pm that afternoon. By 6:55 Hannibal, though still acting interested and polite, was desperate to kick out Franklyn as fast as humanely possible. The only thing that kept him (vaguely) sane was the pleasing image of his tedious patient as a nice large piece of steak to eat with his beloved Will. At the ding that announced the end of the session Hannibal all but leapt out of his chair, forcefully (ahem, politely) pushing Franklyn to the door escort him out. Seeing Will sitting in the waiting room lifted the psychiatrist’s spirits, causing him to entirely forget Franklyn was even still there.

“Will, mano didžiausias ir tik pažinčių, it is lovely to see you. Please, come in.” Hannibal graciously announced, ushering Will into the safe confines of his office – all but shoving Franklyn out the door and shutting the large oak frame in his face without so much as a glance. With a small smile, Will entered, his phone (unbeknownst to Hannibal) on in his back pocket.

“Let me just grab us both a glass of wine, as I know for one I definitely need one.” Hannibal said, walking towards the door that led to the small kitchen area of his office, “Red or white?”

“Surprise me.” Will answered, hardly caring as they both tasted equally vile to him. Hannibal nodded his head in understanding and walked out the room, leaving Will to reach for his phone and wait.

 

<><><><>

 

Hannibal returned shortly, a glass of white wine and a tumbler of whiskey in hand, to find Will still in the chair he left him in, which was a surprise indeed. The younger man was usually perusing the shelves of the large bookshelf whenever he had the chance, putting Hannibal at ill ease with the change of habit. Will simply sat, phone hanging out of his hand and a look of shock on his cherubic (in Hannibal’s eyes anyway) face. He set the glasses down on his desk and walked over to his unofficial patient, concerned.

“Is everything all right, mylimasis?” he asked, crouching down in front of the bewildered man.

“How long?” Will asked, putting Hannibal on edge. Did he know about his secret? Was he going to turn him into the FBI? Had he already? Was Hannibal able to hurt the one he loved for his freedom? Hannibal slouched in defeat when he realised the answer.

“How long what, Will?” Hannibal replied, trying not to let his unease set into his voice. Will could still hear it, having known the man more than he knew himself.

“How long have you been… in love with me?” Will breathed, worrying that if he said it too loud it would not be true. Hannibal heard well enough, close to Will as he was.

“So,” Hannibal murmured, leaning back on his haunches, “you worked it out.” He looked into his love’s eyes, trying to see Will’s reaction. “I – I don’t really know how long exactly. Just one day I realised I – I felt feelings for you I hadn’t felt before.” This was the most vulnerable Will had ever seen Hannibal, the normally stoic man’s eyes were shining with perilously close tears of humiliation or fear.

Hannibal closed his eyes, unable to face the look of disgust or horror he expected to see on his darling’s face. He opened them again to the feeling of a calloused hand on his cheek, forcing him to look up. A light smile was on Will’s lips.

“Not fond of eye contact, are you?” He mused cheekily, maintaining eye contact with Hannibal the whole time, hand subconsciously stroking Hannibal’s barely there stubble.

“Eyes are distracting. You see too much, you don’t see enough. And-And it’s hard to focus when you’re thinking ‘Does he hate me? Is this going to ruin our freshly built friendship?’” Hannibal replied, a watery smile on his unsure face. “Whose profile are you working on anyway?”

“Yours, Hannibal. Always yours.”

**Author's Note:**

> brangiausias – dearest  
> numylėtinis – darling  
> kai jūs suprasite, aš tave myliu – When will you realise I love you  
> mano didžiausias ir tik pažinčių – my greatest and only love  
> mylimasis - beloved
> 
> (according to Google Translate and my limited knowlegde, please let me know if they are wrong)


End file.
